California closes out a two-game homestand when the Golden Bears host USC Saturday at 12 noon. Cal has won the last three games over the Trojans in Berkeley and seven of the past eight contests played in the Bay Area.

Sophomore G/F Marquise Kately paced the Bears with 14 points vs. UCLA (6-9 FG, 2-3 FT) - the first time he has led Cal in scoring since chipping in 12 points at USC Jan. 20.

Cal's third-leading scorer overall with 9.2 ppg, Kately has failed to make a field goal four times this season. But on each occasion, he responded with a double-digit effort in his next game.

With just a 7-7 home record this year, Cal actually boasts a better road mark, going 5-4 outside of Berkeley. Remarkably, the Bears are shooting better on the road (45.3 FG%) than at home (45.1%).

Junior F Rod Benson has a team-high five double-doubles this season after scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 boards vs. UCLA Thursday. He currently ranks 11th in the Pac-10 in scoring (13.5 ppg) and ninth in rebounding (6.1 rpg) - quite an improvement for a player who averaged only 2.6 ppg and 1.7 rpg last year.

In Thursday's UCLA contest, Richard Midgley and Ayinde Ubaka started together in the backcourt for the fourth time all year and for the first time since Nov. 23 Southern, a game in which Ubaka broke his left foot. The pair started 25 games as a guard tandem in 2003-04, but the injury to Ubaka and a subsequent sprained shoulder for Midgley kept one or the other on the sidelines for 14 games this season.

Junior C David Paris leads the Pac-10 in field goal shooting (60.0%) in league games only. Over his past seven contests, he has made 30-of-44 shots from the floor (68.2 percent). In the first match-up with USC Jan. 20, Paris sank 5-of-6 shots en route to an 11-point outing.

Junior Martin Smith, a third-year walk-on, continues to pace the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.53:1). He has also picked up his offensive number of late, now averaging 9.0 ppg over Cal's last four contests.